Taking a commercial approach: A guide for local councils in Scotland to income generation, trading and charging

Local Government within Scotland is facing a number of challenges. Resources are not unlimited and yet demand for local council services is ever increasing. Reliance on ever decreasing central funding for local councils means stark choices; cut services or find other ways to meet these on-going challenges. That is why APSE Scotland commissioned this guide for our member local councils to explore the dynamics of commercialisation in local government.

By commercialisation we are talking about those activities that local councils can provide at a charge in order to generate additional income. It makes clear that local councils are not at liberty to charge for those services that they ought to provide on a statutory basis, and nor would we want that to be the case. However, local councils in Scotland can add value to services that they already provide and are more than capable of entering into markets; both new and existing, to bring added value to citizens and to local economies.

Promoting excellence in public services

APSE (Association for Public Service Excellence) is a not for profit unincorporated association working with over 300 councils throughout the UK. Promoting excellence in public services, APSE is the foremost specialist in local authority frontline services, hosting a network for frontline service providers in areas such as waste and refuse collection, parks and environmental services, cemeteries and crematorium, environmental health, leisure, school meals, cleaning, housing and building maintenance.